Hello, all!

I decided to write this devlog a little early because of a comment on the F95Zone forum, which is perhaps where most of this game's exposure comes from. There have been a TON of people who have come forward and offered feedback, some in... less than kind ways, but the underlying message is that the Prologue is the weakest part of the game. I agree. And that's why S1 is getting a rewrite. 

So what's been done so far, and what's left to do? Lemme share a Discord post with you.

I also have a new system brewing for Season 2, suggested by Raffael in the Discord: Love Languages. The further you get in a girl's side story, the higher chance she does something at certain points in your day. For instance, you might come to work and see that Jade left you a latte and a cookie at the security desk. Wither might catch you at your lunchtime to give you a quick kiss and send you on your way. I plan for each girl to have a primary and secondary love language, and I feel like having them pop up randomly for 1 to 2 renders during the story segments of the game may help the world feel more alive and help the player feel the impact of the girls they've chosen to spend more time with. 

And now the other half of the post.

I've had a surprising amount of interest in the feedback form at the end of S1 asking who this Nightblind band is, and where they can find more of the music. The short answer is, well, it's me. There are some tracks, like Cellophane and Break the Spell where I played all of the instruments myself except the drums, and some like Hindsight and Slithering where I either purchased the license to or commissioned a backing track to sing over so I could focus on the quality of the vocals. 

Nightblind started as a concept. We've all been through those periods in life where everything is shit and we're in complete darkness. Then, someone comes along who seems to be this gigantic ball of brilliant light. So you take them at surface value. But over time, as your eyes adjust, you realize that massive ball of light was really only a tiny pinprick. You fell for someone only because they contrasted with the darkness you were trapped in, and they weren't all that great after all. You were Nightblind. 

I meant for this music to be kind of my personal release for things that have happened to me. It's my way of processing, accepting, and moving on, because once I commit the words, once I sing them, once I release the song, it's out there in the world and I have admitted to the world how I feel about it. In a way, it's closure. But the reason I release it publicly is because I hope someone who is just now going through the things I've been through for the very first time can hear these words and think, "Shit, I'm not the only one who understands how this feels, and this person is proof that there's light on the other side." I want all of my bad experiences to be tools in a toolbelt that I can hand to someone in hopes that it helps them navigate their new, unfamiliar situation easier. The music is out there in hopes that it makes a difference for someone.

Now, is the music good? Eh. Not particularly. I never wanted to be a professional musician, to go into the music industry and turn music into a job because I knew I could never make it in an industry so cutthroat. I wanted it to remain a hobby, to put out songs when I needed to put them out, and for those who needed them to be able to hear them and find comfort in them. So of course it's not as polished as a lot of the stuff you might hear on Spotify or the radio.

So why did I include Nightblind music references in WCA? Well, Kanako is kind of the amalgamation of a few friends of mine who DEMAND that I notify them when a new song is out, and want to know the story behind each song. And I figured with the reach WCA has, meager as it is, maybe the music will reach someone who needs it. 

If y'all are interested in the Nightblind music I reference in the game, lemme know. If there's enough interest, I may make full song and lyric posts here and there between progress reports. I appreciate all the feedback, questions, and interest you've all shown, and I'm looking forward to the development of WCA into a single game. 

-Vic